PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:

October 27, 2005

Indiana Newspapers Restrict Gun Ads as Campaign to Close the Newspaper Loophole Gains Momentum

At least 47 newspapers across the country, including 9 newspapers in Indiana, have recently adopted policies to restrict firearms advertisements to licensed firearms dealers

Indianapolis, IN – Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence and the Campaign to Close the Newspaper Loophole announced today that at least nine Indiana newspapers have recently implemented policies to restrict firearms advertisements to licensed firearms dealers only.

The Indiana newspapers that have adopted new policies include: The Times Mail (Bedford), Brazil Times, Columbia City Post & Mail, Decatur Daily Democrat, The Times (Frankfort), Banner-Graphic (Greencastle), Linton Daily Citizen, The Commercial Review (Portland), and The Rochester Sentinel.  

The Indianapolis Star changed its policy in February 2004.

In August, HCGV mailed a letter to the publisher of all daily newspapers in the state asking the newspaper to restrict firearms advertisements to licensed firearms dealers only and to not take classified ads for guns from unlicensed sellers. The above newspapers changed their firearms advertising policies in response to HCGV’s letter.

The Indiana newspaper campaign was part of the national Campaign to Close the Newspaper Loophole. Since the campaign was launched, at least 63 newspapers across the country with a combined circulation of 7.7 million have changed their firearms advertising policies. At least 47 newspapers have changed their policy in 2005 as a result of state campaigns in Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, and Indiana. The campaign’s goal is to conduct state campaigns in all 50 states, reaching approximately 1,500 daily newspapers currently published in the U.S.

Said John Johnson, coordinator for the Campaign to Close the Newspaper Loophole, “There is a demand for guns by people who can’t buy them from licensed firearms dealers because they are either too young or have a criminal record and can’t pass the mandatory criminal background check required on all dealer sales. We are pleased that the publishers of these newspapers recognize that the classifieds provide opportunities for prohibited purchasers to buy guns without a background check and have taken steps to prevent their newspaper from being used as a marketplace for illegal gun purchases.”

Bill Ney, president of HCGV added, “It is difficult to defend a newspaper’s role in the private sale of firearms without a criminal background check. We commend these newspapers for their leadership and encourage other newspapers in Indiana to join the growing number of newspapers in Indiana and across the country that have closed the newspaper loophole. We consider that this makes good policy not only for the general public, but also for the newspaper.”

Under federal law (the Brady Law), federally licensed firearms dealers are required to conduct criminal background checks on all buyers. However, unlicensed sellers who sell firearms from a “personal collection” are not required to conduct background checks. Sources of non-dealer sales include gun shows, flea markets, estate sales and garage sales, firearms sales over the Internet, and firearms sales through classified ads in newspapers.

Researchers estimate that about 40 percent of all firearms transfers (approximately 5.5 million transactions a year) occur on secondary markets not subject to Brady background checks. A 2000 government study found that about 90 percent of guns used in crimes changed hands at least once on the secondary market before being used in a crime.

Said Ney, “We recognize that the classifieds represent only one part of the unregulated secondary gun market. But by changing its policy, a newspaper becomes part of the solution rather than part of the problem.”

According to a June 2005 telephone survey of Indiana newspapers conducted by the Campaign to Close the Newspaper Loophole, the following Indiana newspapers, in addition to the nine newspapers identified above, do not take firearms advertisements from unlicensed sellers: The Republic (Columbus), The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne), The News Sentinel (Fort Wayne), Daily Journal (Franklin), Daily Reporter (Greenfield), Huntington Herald Press, The Indianapolis Star, Journal & Courier (Lafayette), Post Tribune (Merrillville), Herald Journal (Monticello), The Courier Times (New Castle), Noblesville Daily Times, The Tribune (Seymour),  Shelbyville News, South Bend Tribune, and Vincennes Sun Commercial.

Regarding the campaign’s recent successes, Johnson noted, “Closing the newspaper loophole is easy because it doesn’t take an Act of Congress. All it takes is a management decision. We expect more newspapers to change their policy as the campaign reaches all 50 states.”

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